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the king said to Barzillai. “I will take care of
you there.”
34 “No,” he replied, “I am far too old to go
with the king to Jerusalem. 35 I am eighty years
old today, and I can no longer enjoy anything.
Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot
hear the singers as they sing. I would only be a
burden to my lord the king. 36 Just to go across
the Jordan River with the king is all the honor
I need! 37 Then let me return again to die in my
own town, where my father and mother are buried. But here is your servant, my son Kimham.
Let him go with my lord the king and receive
whatever you want to give him.”
38 “Good,” the king agreed. “Kimham will
go with me, and I will help him in any way
you would like. And I will do for you anything
you want.” 39 So all the people crossed the Jordan with the king. After David had blessed Barzillai and kissed him, Barzillai returned to his
own home.
40 The king then crossed over to Gilgal, taking Kimham with him. All the troops of Judah
and half the troops of Israel escorted the king
on his way.
An Argument over the King
41 But all the men of Israel complained to the
king, “The men of Judah stole the king and
didn’t give us the honor of helping take you, your
household, and all your men across the Jordan.”
42 The men of Judah replied, “The king is one
of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you
angry? We haven’t eaten any of the king’s food
or received any special favors!”
43 “But there are ten tribes in Israel,” the
others replied. “So we have ten times as much
right to the king as you do. What right do you
have to treat us with such contempt? Weren’t we
the first to speak of bringing him back to be our
king again?” The argument continued back and
forth, and the men of Judah spoke even more
harshly than the men of Israel.
The Revolt of Sheba
There happened to be a troublemaker
there named Sheba son of Bicri, a man
from the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba blew a ram’s
horn and began to chant:
20
“Down with the dynasty of David!
We have no interest in the son of Jesse.
Come on, you men of Israel,
back to your homes!”
2 So all the men of Israel deserted David and
followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him
from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.
20:7a Hebrew So Joab’s men. 20:7b Hebrew the Kerethites
and Pelethites; also in 20:23. 20:8 Hebrew As he stepped
forward, it fell out. 20:14 As in Greek and Latin versions;
Hebrew reads All the Berites.
2 SAM UEL 20
3 When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to
look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no
longer slept with them. So each of them lived
like a widow until she died.
4 Then the king told Amasa, “Mobilize the
army of Judah within three days, and report
back at that time.” 5 So Amasa went out to notify Judah, but it took him longer than the time
he had been given.
6 Then David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of
Bicri is going to hurt us more than Absalom did.
Quick, take my troops and chase after him before he gets into a fortified town where we can’t
reach him.”
7 So Abishai and Joab,* together with the
king’s bodyguard* and all the mighty warriors,
set out from Jerusalem to go after Sheba. 8 As
they arrived at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa
met them. Joab was wearing his military tunic
with a dagger strapped to his belt. As he stepped
forward to greet Amasa, he slipped the dagger
from its sheath.*
9 “How are you, my cousin?” Joab said and
took him by the beard with his right hand as
though to kiss him. 10 Amasa didn’t notice the
dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him
in the stomach with it so that his insides gushed
out onto the ground. Joab did not need to strike
again, and Amasa soon died. Joab and his
brother Abishai left him lying there and continued after Sheba.
11 One of Joab’s young men shouted to Amasa’s troops, “If you are for Joab and David, come
and follow Joab.” 12 But Amasa lay in his blood
in the middle of the road, and Joab’s man saw
that everyone was stopping to stare at him. So
he pulled him off the road into a field and threw
a cloak over him. 13 With Amasa’s body out of
the way, everyone went on with Joab to capture
Sheba son of Bicri.
14 Meanwhile, Sheba traveled through all
the tribes of Israel and eventually came to the
town of Abel-beth-maacah. All the members
of his own clan, the Bicrites,* assembled for
battle and followed him into the town. 15 When
Joab’s forces arrived, they attacked Abel-bethmaacah. They built a siege ramp against the
town’s fortifications and began battering down
the wall. 16 But a wise woman in the town called
out to Joab, “Listen to me, Joab. Come over here
so I can talk to you.” 17 As he approached, the
woman asked, “Are you Joab?”
“I am,” he replied.
So she said, “Listen carefully to your servant.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
18 Then she continued, “There used to be
a saying, ‘If you want to settle an argument,
ask advice at the town of Abel.’ 19 I am one who